Sunday, 1 March 2015

Stitch and Yarn – a week in photos

Since quitting my job a lot of people ask me what I do with my time. While I readily admit I'm taking life at a more leisurely pace – finally having time to exercise regularly, eat proper meals and even read books (!) I also have classes for about 14 hours a week and around that I work on Stitch and Yarn most days. This might include projects I'm turning into patterns, working on samples, researching, designing and of course, keeping up with various social media platforms – my own, and others I'm following.

Anyway, today I thought I'd show you my week in pictures – all projects in progress that will turn into patterns, samples and products somewhere down the line.

Last Sunday I worked on my Mexican-cochineal-inspired quilt. I finally got the last of the colours in the mail, but sadly this was the last time I got to it for the week. I'm aiming for a mid-April finish, which seems utterly reasonable at the moment...

Monday was a new Mexican blouse. I'm trialling a few more bodice patterns that can be stitched faster than the all-over ones I've designed to date. I'm happy to say that I'll be teaching 'How to Make a Mexican Blouse' (that sounds a bit like How to Make an American Quilt... am I showing my age here?) with the Handmaker's Factory from the middle of April. Click here for further details.

Tuesday was documenting day. Inspired by Alabama Chanin and their gorgeous sample library, I'm taking Natalie's advice and starting to document my own work. This folder will include all the projects that were influenced by my trip to Mexico. Besides the blouse and the quilt there are three other ones in progress.

Wednesday was weaving, which really isn't worth showing you. I'm a bit behind and still warping my loom. Maybe in a couple of weeks there be some samples to show you. I did also go to the Melbourne library on Wednesday – what a find that is. I've recently built some bookshelves and I'm finally unpacking all my books from my last move. It's fair to say I've been overwhelmed at the number of books I own. I'm increasingly disappointed in the quality of fiction too and have so many books where I've only read a chapter or two and then put them down out of boredom or frustration. So, in the interests of saving money, precious natural resources and shelf space, I've joined the library. These gems are research for my India trip later in the year.

Thursday was machine knitting. Despite this photo the day went pretty well – better than last week anyway. I'm not totally sure I like having a machine between me and my textile creations – be that the loom or the knitting machine – but I'm persevering nonetheless.

Friday was a bit all over the place, some bodice stitching, some planning, and I started my fibre cataloguing. Who knew camel down was so soft?

And that brings us to Saturday, which was a day off. My sister and nephews were staying, so we went spent the day out and went to the beach. Then last night I cooked up a big veggie curry made from many of the vegetables my sister brought me from her organic CSA.

So there you have it folks, this is how I'm spending my days, and I can tell you that, for now, it suits me well. Hope you all had a lovely week!

Visit the Stitch and Yarn Store

Find me on

Follow me on Instagram

Follow me on Pinterest

Follow by email

Search This Blog

Subscribe to

Previous posts

Hi there, I'm Tara – a designer/maker passionate about textiles. My aim is to take quilting back to its roots. Designing quilt patterns for perennial fabrics and those we already have to hand. My other passions are the environment and travelling the world in search of textiles, colour and things handmade with love.
Please reach out at hello[at]stitchandyarn[dot]com